RE: Are 'Good' Intentions Good Enough? The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
Yes, there is another category of behavior where intentions to help do matter, as that is what they are sought for: to provide help. People can accept that someone could have done nothing, or that they did something to try to help. If they did nothing and someone would have died, then at least trying was better than doing nothing. So intentions don't really factor in for me there much, it's just logical. Anyways different contexts and scenarios can make it varied, but I think we can always reason out situations where someone does need to take responsibility. It can get tricky I'm sure, we could think of all types of dilemmas hehe.
And you're right about how intent does matter, as I said as well. They still performed an action, that demonstrated their intent, despite the result not being what they wanted. Catching people before they execute it is ideal, like in conspiracy cases. Intention does matter no doubt ;)
Would a "thought crime" be supported as a valid intent to convict someone of crime? I wonder how far things will go with future tech and crime prevention laws...
Sure, but that's what makes them interesting, too. Looking at cases that are in the fuzzy borders between action, intent and result helps us understand how they are connected and what we view as more relevant.
Depends on what exactly gets defined as a thought crime I think. For instance, I might hate my neighbor so much that I might even think that he doesn't deserve to live. I could go as far as to thinking that if there would be no consequences, I would kill him and I might even imagine killing them. But none of those qualifies are real intent in my opinion.